The explosion of internet video has made YouTube on of the biggest and most significant sites on the internet today. Users can upload videos, share them with friends, promote their own or other users’ channels, and create playlists and video blogs, among many other possibilities. Many have even achieved a kind of celebrity status by garnering popularity through YouTube. If you’re wondering how you can get more views on your YouTube videos, it’s a simple matter of creative marketing and it doesn’t have to cost you a cent. Whether your YouTube channel is a video blog, a soap-box, or a promotional platform for a business, follow these tips to get more viewers today.

One of the most beneficial, yet often unused features that can be utilized to get more views on your videos, is very simple–annotations. Have you ever watched a video and noticed little text pop-ups at some point in the video? If so, you’ve witnessed annotations at work, and you’ve probably clicked on one. These little virtual post-it notes can be used to link to other videos, or directly to your channel, guiding your viewers to more of your videos and making more traffic for you. It is often the case that viewers would love to see more from you, but simply need to be lead in the right direction.

Try to bring in as many subscribers as possible. One of the great things about YouTube channels is that users can subscribe to them and get notifications every time a new video is uploaded to that channel. When you start building up a base of subscribers, you have a group of people who look forward to seeing your videos. They will be your loyal fans who promote your videos voluntarily through word of mouth. When more like-minded folks see your videos and want more, you get even more subscribers and more views, on and on to infinity.

Another great way to start pulling in more views is to attach yourself to an already popular trend. If a widely viewed video is making its rounds through various internet circles and you have something interesting to say about it, upload a video as a response. There is a button that can be used to create a video response to any video, which can subsequently direct viewers of the first video to your response. This is one of the easiest ways to start building your base of viewers and bring in loads of clicks from perfect strangers.

You don’t have to buy Twitter followers or contract marketing agencies to get more internet popularity. Get creative with your YouTube channel and promote it on other social networking platforms to get yourself off to a strong start. You really can never tell who’s going to be the next big YouTube sensation, and you have as good a chance as anyone else. Remember these simple tips for growing and promoting your channel and you’ll be well on your way to internet stardom.